Misplaced
by FromTheDepthsOfInsanity
Summary: -ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. YUU YUU HAKUSHO PLOT COMPLETELY DISCARDED- Yomi was promised someone who would bring about the end of the legendary Thief Prince, Youko Kurama. Youko-x-Yuusuke


**Warnings:** Yaoi/shounen-ai/boyxboy, sexual situations, kidnapping, language, Youko-x-Yuusuke  
**Summary:** -Somewhat of a Yuu Yuu Hakusho and Red River Crossover- Yomi was promised someone who would bring about the end of the legendary Thief Prince, Youko Kurama.  
**Disclaimer:** Yuu Yuu Hakusho and all its characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. Red River is property of Chie Shinohara and Viz Media.

**MISPLACED**  
**URAMESHI YUUSUKE AND KURAMA YOUKO**  
**PART 1**

* * *

"If not college, then what, Yuusuke? What do you want to do with your life?"

"Good question."

Keiko rolled her eyes and sighed, "Well, you need to think of something."

It was always the same. Yuusuke would 'volunteer' to pick Keiko up from the subway station and get an earful about how he wasn't following her lead by going to college. He had a job he liked. He had a roof over his head. He had friends. He had a sometimes girlfriend. What the hell did everyone want from him? Wasn't his happiness and contentment enough? Things were good.

Well, this month at least. He just hoped his mother didn't find the stash of money he hid in his mattress. He didn't know where he would put it if she ever did; all of his other hiding spots have been exhausted.

"Why?"

"Well, life would be better."

"Are you saying my life is terrible?"

"It's good for a child."

"I like being a child."

She scoffed, "You're impossible!"

Smile.

Success! Conversation dropped. Keiko 0, Yuusuke 10,492.

They walked in silence for the majority of their trek, only punctuated occasionally by Keiko's chitter-chatter. Yuusuke hardly paid any attention to her. It mostly consisted of Keiko's dislike of some girl in her class or how so-and-so did something wrong or something she demeaned completely immoral/unprofessional/disgusting. It was always the same. Yuusuke could mimic her better than any mime or parrot at this point.

Not that it was irritating. It just came with the Keiko package, and Yuusuke had to deal with that. Well, at least, he felt he needed to deal with it. Someone had to. Keiko hardly got any attention from her friends outside the need for her smarts, and her parents, while proud and loving, didn't truly know how to express themselves to her other than adult-to-adult, not parent-to-child or even authority-to-group member.

Yuusuke understood the need to talk to someone naturally and extraneously. God knows he doesn't get any sort of conversational stimulation from his drunken mother, and Kuwabara was hard to understand after he smashed his face into the pavement. Keiko was the only viable outlet, when she let him speak of course.

Though, half the time she didn't really want to hear about his escapades through territory no sane person should want to transverse or how he managed to weasel his way out of work. Who the hell wants to hear about the time some strung-out whore propositioned him right after he beat the shit out of her pimp?

Yuusuke, duh. Keiko? Not so much.

Yuusuke didn't talk about feelings. That was Keiko's bit. She was always telling him to speak, be better, do better, work harder, but Yuusuke was content enough with life and comfortable in not speaking about things that would have some girl balling or upset the hell out of someone. Play with the cards you're dealt was his motto.

Besides, Yuusuke had a feeling that even if he did speak open and honestly and often, Keiko would shoot everything down and twist it to make it about her, or worse, twist it so he felt guilt about feeling the way he did.

"So, were you serious before?"

"That depends. About what?"

"Us," Keiko whispered. "Getting married. Being spouses. Starting a family."

Yuusuke paused, not sure at first how to properly address her, "I don't know," He honestly said, "After that last little go-around we had about it, I'm just not sure."

"Well, if you didn't use it as a buffer or a distraction all the time, I'd be more inclined to take you seriously."

"You ever think that maybe it's the only way I can ask?" By her silence, he reasoned that no, she hadn't, but that didn't make it true. It was fun to fuck with Keiko's smart little brain every once in a while. Yuusuke could be quite the astute little bastard. "If I was serious, you still wouldn't take me seriously. In fact, I would think that you would think I was even less serious than normal. To answer your question, maybe. I'd really have to think about it."

He kept his voice level and soft with no hint of anger or malice, just gentle thought. Yuusuke could practically taste her confusion and exasperation coming to a slow boil. It wouldn't be long before she dropped it and changed the subject.

"Well, maybe I can make the decision easier," Success again! "I don't think it's a good idea."

Maybe not so successful...

Yuusuke stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, "Did you ask just so you could shoot me down?"

"No, I asked to gauge your reaction."

"Would your answer have changed?"

"...No."

Yuusuke clicked his tongue against his teeth, gave a little hum low in his throat, and nodded. Why were women so complicated? Always taking the round-about damn way. He crossed his arms.

"And?"

"And what?"

"It doesn't normally end there with you, Keiko. If there's more to say, then fucking say it."

She bit her lip and mindlessly played with the buckle on her messenger bag, "I met someone. He's a tutor at the college."

"So, what? Are you going to ride off into the sunset with this dude?"

"Yuusuke, it's nothing that serious."

"Serious enough for you to tell me it's over between us, which by the way I was never really sure of to begin with."

"Don't you turn this around on me," Keiko hissed.

"I was just stating a fact! It wasn't meant to be hurtful. I was never sure of what we were. Were we friends? Were we boyfriend and girlfriend? Were we brother and sister? What the fuck, Keiko? Even in school, we beat around the bush," Yuusuke turned on his heels and made to keep walking. "I hope you have fun with him."

"Don't be like that! We're not even doing anything!"

"Yet."

"Yuusuke! I just don't think it's right for us to be messing around when I'm having feelings for someone else! It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to me!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Yuusuke raged, refusing to look back at her. In truth, he really didn't know what to make of the situation. He should be heartbroken, but if anything, he felt somewhat betrayed. He wouldn't be hateful though; Yuusuke would just send Keiko on her merry way. "I just said 'have fun!' What the hell do you want from me? It wasn't mean! It wasn't nasty! If anything it was a good-fucking-luck! Do you want me to fly off the damn handle about this?! Because I will! And it won't be the least bit pretty!"

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing now, you big idiot?!"

Yuusuke huffed like an enraged bull and continued stomping along. As he stomped, Yuusuke plunged his feet into puddles, crushed debris under foot, and kicked at defenseless rocks. Stupid Keiko. Stupid tutor. Stupid luck! Everything was just stupid!

And even after all that yelling, Keiko was still following him, raving as it were. If they kept this up, someone was sure to call the cops. Goddamnt, Yuusuke couldn't wind up in an over-night cell again. It might just turn into a five-to-ten-year-cell.

Just as he turned to tell Keiko to shut her trap, Yuusuke was pitched forward into the oily muck slicking up the sidewalk, "Fuck!" He shouted, and tried to right himself, but found he couldn't. His left ankle was caught. He jerked at it, but failed to free it.

Looking down, he caught a glimpse of something brown, skinny, knotted, and crooked wrapped in and tearing his jeans.

"Yuusuke!" Keiko called, rushing forward to help him up. She managed to roll him over if little else. "Are you alright? Oh, look at you! You're nose is bleeding! Here, I have a handkerchief in my bag."

"You see that?"

"The pothole? I see it now that your foot's in it. Come on. Stand up," She forced him to his feet, all the while dabbing at his nose annoyingly.

He tried to deter her by moving, but he couldn't move enough and stare at the flooded pit he had fallen into. A three-pronged shadow hovered just below the surface, waving and pulsating out of tune with the water's ripples. He could have sworn he had seen...

"What are you staring at? You can't beat up the pothole, Yuusuke."

"There's a shadow in the water."

"It's probably just a twig or something," Keiko tossed her gaze quickly to the puddle, saw nothing, and redirected her attentions elsewhere, namely his leg. A few paper-thin cuts on his ankle boldly said something had scratched him, not enough to bleed, but enough to smart. She tsked and shook her head, "A twig with thorns by the looks of it."

Yeah, a twig. Yuusuke frowned. It didn't matter what it was. This was stupid. That was a fact. His nose was bleeding, and this was stupid. There. Two facts now.

Time for three. Yuusuke was annoyed (pissed if he cared to put a proper word to it), his nose was bleeding, and this was fucking stupid. Goddamn potholes. Who the fuck did they think they were just laying all over the damn place in his turf like it was no one's goddamn business?

They were nobodies, and they just royally pissed him off. He had half a mind to write the governor or some shit about what a terrible goddamn job his Road Services Official was doing!

That wasn't fair, but Yuusuke didn't give a flying rat's ass! He couldn't very well take it out on Keiko, but he could take it out on someone he didn't know. Angry letters, hateful, persuasive writing, lotsa paper and time...

You know what? Fuck that! Kuwabara hadn't been beaten into the pavement in a few days. Yuusuke decided it was time to pay him a visit.

He quickly dropped Keiko off, still radiating anger and irritation, which thankfully snipped off any more conversation between them, and promptly headed over to Kuwabara's for some much needed fist-to-ribs contact.

.~:|:~.

Yuusuke wanted to say he was content now, but he found himself more irritated than before. Kuwabara had given him the fight that he wanted, but damn if it wasn't short. He had to scrounge about, picking fights with every Tom, Dick, and Harry just to get a good flow going.

Needless to say, he didn't get home until late, which made other idiots gravitate towards him, thinking they could get an easy couple bucks off his unconscious body or a good giggle out of kicking his ass. Well, joke's on them, now isn't it?

Turns out, joke was on Yuusuke. Yeah, he showed those bastards what-for, but the moment he got home, he walked into a disaster area. His mother was nowhere to be found (typical) and everything from garbage to essentials were strewn about on the floor. The sink was overflowing with booze-scented glasses and grubby dishes; the carpet was nonexistent, and, as the cherry on top, every drain was clogged. Not just the kitchen sink's with another unmentionable nasty. Not just the shower with a hairball from hell.

Every, single, drain. Clogged.

How the hell does that even happen!?

So the first two hours after Yuusuke got home, after just wanting to lay down and decompress, he had to clean. He wished he could have just put a few dishes in the dishwasher, vacuumed, showered, then went to bed, but no. Semi-intense cleaning needed to be done. God only knew what kind of fluid was in his carpet, but regardless it needed to come up because already it was starting to discolor it.

Just who the hell was the parent here? Yuusuke could have sworn it was Atsuko's fault he was here, not his fault that Atsuko was.

Whatever. He'd be taking care of his mother until the day one or the other died. And he had to make peace with that.

Yeah, right. Yuusuke? Make peace? Pigs would sooner fly while having a fancy tea-party in a cold Hell.

He didn't have the energy for a shower after everything is said and done. It didn't matter. He needed to wash his blankets and clothes the next day. Grime and sweat were no strangers to him; he would welcome them to his bed if only for a night.

Ah~ sweet, sweet mattress, blankets, and pillows,  
How wonderfully you cradle, how gentle your hold, how feathery your touches.  
Savior to everyone, even heroes,  
You are a mere vessel for rest, but so much power is in your clutches.

"Ode to Yuusuke's Bed" or some shit written by Urameshi Yuusuke.

And Keiko said he wasn't sensitive. He could barely muster a snicker before he fell asleep.

It felt as though he had only just blinked and he was awake again. No sunlight poured through his windows, so it wasn't the light of day that awoke him prematurely; it was a horrible clanking and rattling. Like someone had a metal pipe and had put rocks into it, making some sort of crazy maraca.

His mother must be home. That was the only explanation. Maybe she dropped her engagement ring down the disposal or was trying to destroy another pair of high heels in the air vents. Who the hell knew with that woman?

Begrudgingly, Yuusuke got out of bed and began his investigation, being the great detective that he was. No one but himself populated the dark apartment, and the kitchen sink had seemingly been clean since he was forced to bathe it. He checked the air vents, the front walk, the living room, and his mother's room, but still the rattling persisted. He finally checked the bathroom and what greeted him nearly made him break all the porcelain and tile in the room in utter rage.

The bathroom sink sat vainly filled to the brim with opaque liquid, threatening sweetly to spill over any moment. It looked as though someone had filled the basin and just dropped the bar of soap into the water, leaving it to slowly soften and wear away in the steaming puddle.

But that wasn't possible was it? Sure, the soap was gone, but the plunger for the sink was sitting on the edge where it was supposed to be like a good boy.

Another clogged drain. Really? Seriously? This was what Yuusuke had been reduced to: a plumber. Get him some overalls and a green hat and he could call himself Luigi.

Because you know... fuck Mario.

UGH! He just wanted to sleep, dream about lollipops and gumdrops, and wake up reasonably chill before the weight of all this stupidity hit him harder than a pillowcase full of bricks. Was that really so much to ask for?

Yes, yes it was apparently.

Yuusuke sighed and glared at the offensive mess. He should just leave it for his mother to fix, but that damn rattling, he couldn't possibly fall back to sleep with all that racket. Without ceremony, Yuusuke plunged his hand into the soapy water, feeling around for any obstruction around the drain.

For steaming water, it felt... cool. Goosebumps skittered up his arms to the back of his neck like scared spiders. Yuusuke paused to consider this, but only for a moment. Maybe it was just too hot in his house. Frozen shit steamed when you took it out of the freezer. Maybe this was the same thing?

But the water wasn't cold enough to give him the chills. Gently, he felt around on the bottom of the basin, thinking that maybe the basin itself was hot or cold enough to cause fog. He made a face. Nope. It felt like a normal sink to him.

Whatever. So what if the water wasn't hotter than the sun or colder than a witch's tit? It wasn't supposed to be in the sink in the first place.

He quickly found the bar of soap, now but a husk of its former self and so soft he could model it into any shape he wanted, flung it to the side uncaring of where it landed, and kept feeling around for anything to explain all this stupid water. With his luck, it would be so far into the pipes the whole damn bathroom would have to be gutted.

Maybe it was a rat. A rat crawled down his pipes and got its fat ass stuck. It had gotten fat on all the trash around his damn house, wanted to escape through the bathroom sink where it had been hiding, got stuck, and a slow leak gradually filled the sink and drowned the filthy beast.

Poor bastard.

At least there was one more furry little monster gone from the world. No plague in the Urameshi House today!

But Yuusuke found no furry beast at the hole. In fact, Yuusuke couldn't rightly say what he found there because he couldn't see, but there was definitely something there. He ran his fingertips over the thick plug. It seemed too big to even fit into the drain at all.

Cocking his head, he continued to feel it, trying to decipher just what it was. Its surface was pitted and deeply textured with high ridges and deep canyons, but somewhat silken to the touch, like baby flesh. He pinched it, but it had no give. He might as well have pinched a tree branch or a rock.

What the hell was this? A potato or something? Did someone seriously shove a POTATO in his BATHROOM SINK!?

He growled, now seriously irritated, and wrapped his hand around the girth of it. Pulling, he was met with only stubborn resistance. What the hell? Seriously?! Yuusuke put his foot against the wall for leverage and yanked with all his might. The sink protested with the slosh of murky water, and the wallpaper swore as it tore under the sole of his foot.

"Fuck!" Yuusuke finally screamed, pulling his hand out and flinging the water off his arm with a wild swing. "What the hell is wrong with my house?! Why couldn't my day be as boring and regular shitty instead of stupid and extra shitty!?"

Urameshi Yuusuke would not be deterred. He was hard to motivate, but when he put his mind to something, his determination couldn't be run down by a speeding train. He plunged both hands into the water, splashing the excessive liquid around, and grabbed hold of whatever the fuck DARED to clog his drain. He pulled, and pulled, and pulled some more, but it still wouldn't budge.

Yuusuke roared again, furious and tired and just all around pissed, and nearly banged his head on the faucet as he leaned down to rest his forehead against it. His breathing was heavy, chest falling in a deep, albeit rapid, beat.

This seriously must be Fuck-Yuusuke-Over day.

Before Yuusuke could continue his mental rant, a flash of brown and black caught his eye as it grazed the scum floating on top of the water. He knitted his brows. Just what the hell was that? A mole or something? No, moles don't swim. What were those things? Oh, water shrews or something, but those were only in America.

Maybe a snake or an eel?

He couldn't think more on it. The flash of black and brown turned into a long limb shooting out of the water and wrapping three raptor-like fingers around his throat. It pulled him down face first into the murky depths and continued to pull as if its life depended on drowning him.

His hands could only hang onto the sides of the sink, the faucet, hell, even the medicine cabinet and try to push him back up, futilely might he add. Yuusuke couldn't see clearly through the bubbles and muck and he wasn't sure he wanted to. All he knew was he needed to get away.

The hand tightened on his throat and pulled down more, actually lifting Yuusuke's feet off the ground with the force of its pull. Why pull more? He couldn't go any further into the damn sink! Yuusuke gasped, breathing in the disgusting, churning liquid, and began to struggle and convulse with everything he had.

He had to get away. He had to get away! He couldn't drown in his fucking sink! Who the hell even does that?! More importantly, this bastard, freak, beast, rat, WATER SHREW, whatever it was didn't deserve the pleasure of killing Urameshi Yuusuke!

Yuusuke managed to get a good footing and with a rough shove that used every bit of strength in his body, he pushed himself out of the water. He sputtered and choked. The hand was still firmly gripping his throat and trying to pull him back into the soapy depths.

But Yuusuke had the advantage now. Surprise was gone, and survival was kicking in. Twisting and turning, all the while still trying to take in precious air, Yuusuke tried to loosen the hand's hold, and for the most part was succeeding.

"Let go of me!" He screamed, though it came out as a mere croak. "Let go!"

And let go it did. As suddenly as it had grabbed, it released and fell slack. The force of Yuusuke pulling away had thrown him back so hard that he bounced against the wall like a bowling ball. He could only cough and sputter and hold his chest as he heaved up water.

Brown eyes flicked over to the monster hand, eyeing it with suspicion. It seemed harmless enough now, looking almost like an abandoned twig, but the slightest twitch of its muscular fingers, the slightest glint off its black nails gave it away. It sprung up, an awakened bear, and swung around wildly, blindly in search of its prey. It scrabbled over the porcelain of the sink, clicking the nails over it in a horrible melody.

Angrily, it tensed and shook, and with one last, pissed off gesture, tightened and clenched into a slow fist, dragging the sharp tips of his talons over the edge of the basin, making the sink shriek in pain and echo off the walls. It shot into the water, causing a mighty splash, and was gone.

A moment later, all was quiet save for the suddenly fast draining of water from the basin.

Yuusuke was alone with an aching chest and bruised throat. At least, he thought he was for the moment.

"What are you doin' on the floor?" Atsuko's slurred speech hit Yuusuke's ear even more sluggishly than her movements. "You drunk?"

Yuusuke could only manage to look at her, fear and adrenaline still coursing through him, and stare with wide, pupil-blown eyes. His tongue suddenly felt very thick and dry, but managed a few uncontrolled, ignorant noises. Atsuko cocked an eyebrow at her son and waited with the patience of a saint (or, you know, someone drunk enough not to be bothered by petty human emotions such as irritation).

"A ha-hand! There was a hand!" Yuusuke finally managed to shout. "It-It came out of the water and grabbed me and pulled me in!" His hands went up to his face finally, feeling around for anything other than soapy water. "I was just trying to unclog the drain and it-it grabbed me! It fucking grabbed me!"

Atsuko was quiet as she stared at her panicking son. She moved toward him and knelt down at his side, taking a hand towel to clumsily bat at his face, "Hush, hush, Yuu-chan. You just had a little nightmare. Musta been half 'sleep goin' to the bathroom. Ain't no hand in the sink. No monster under the bed."

"I'm not talking about some stupid ass monster, _Mother_! A hand! Came out! Of the! Damn sink! It grabbed me! You think I'm soaking wet for my health! That's probably why I tripped earlier too! It knew it wasn't a stick that caught me!"

"Tripped? You tripped? Must be why you're all wet."

Yuusuke sighed heavily, suddenly feeling exhausted and not all that upset, "Go to bed, Ma. You're drunk."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Atsuko purred, nearly falling on him as she stood up.

She left him there without a second thought, and all he could do was warily glance at the sink. Yuusuke clumsily rose and curiously stretched himself to look into the basin. No trace of the water, soap, or struggle could be seen there. In fact, had he not seen it himself, he would have never guessed it was clogged to begin with.

He daringly moved close, but not so close that he could reach out and touch it, and noticed the faintest marks on the side of the sink, the slightest, uneven ridge detail that hadn't been there before. Scratches. That hand actually made scratches in the sink, but if anything, it was proof.

Yuusuke backed away quickly and rushed out of his bathroom. He'd show his mother when she was sober. He'd show Keiko too because neither would believe him when he told them the story.

.~:|:~.

How could they not see what he was seeing? He had pointed out each individual scratch mark to them and showed them his bruises, but they just didn't see what he had experienced. It just wasn't right. A hand coming out of the sink? Impossible, and quite honestly, Yuusuke could have gotten those choke bruises from anywhere.

After all, there were plenty of idiots waiting to kill him and plenty more pissed off enough to resort to something as intimate as strangulation. Memory blocks weren't uncommon after something like that, and dreams had the bad habit of resurrecting trauma in the oddest fashions.

Maybe it was just a dream and the scratches and bruises were mere coincidence.

No, Yuusuke firmly decided, that wasn't it. He would remember being choked by some asshole. He would remember scratching the hell out of his sink; at least, he would remember being pissed off about ruining it.

He would just have to be careful. Both incidents, pothole and flooded sink, happened around water. Maybe he could just... avoid it?

That seemed more impossible than the fucking hand. How would he go to work on rainy days? How would he pick up Keiko? How would he _shower_?

Fuck, why couldn't things be simple again? Stupid things always found a way to Urameshi Yuusuke's door. It started with that little boy and his dying dog (which Yuusuke helped by coaxing Shota to find his self-esteem), then it moved to that sick girl forever waiting for some jerk-off at the train station (which Yuusuke helped by showing her what a good boyfriend is), and then that even sicker neighbor girl forever stuck in her bedroom (which Yuusuke helped by giving Sayaka the time of her life before she, unfortunately, passed away).

Oh and let's not forget that Tanuki hanging around that crotchety old bastard's house. Yuusuke didn't really do anything about that, other than report the old man's death, since the geezer seemed to enjoy that sly little-... adorable furry animal.

Yes, stupidity and Yuusuke were friends now; he would venture to say they were _besties_, but this, this was beyond stupid. This was downright retarded.

Even still... Yuusuke couldn't stop the apprehension he felt every time he looked down at the toilet to take a leak or every time he stuck his hands into the sink to wash them.

So, he took to going the roundabout way, reconstructing his entire life to minimize water-exposure. He hated it, loathed it, became absolutely prickly at the thought, but he carried hand sanitizer with him everywhere and made sure to keep a pump near every sink in his house. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't need to wash his hands. Not only that, but he invested in dry shampoo and took 'whore baths,' as his mother so elegantly called them. He'd have to be religious about his habits, but Yuusuke thought he could deal with it.

As for Keiko and his job, well, that was a different story entirely. Yuusuke and Keiko had outright refused to talk to each other since her confession, but he wasn't the type to completely drop someone just because they were a jerk, least of all Keiko. Yuusuke would be the first to admit he was the King of Jerks, and Keiko put up with that quite often.

Even if they didn't talk, Yuusuke would still make sure she got home safe, on sunny, dry days if nothing else. Thankfully, Kuwabara was good about not asking questions concerning Keiko; If Yuusuke needed him to go get her, he would.

His job was, thankfully, the easiest of all. He set his own schedule and had no transportation other than his own two feet. If Yuusuke called in to say he couldn't make it because of the rain, it was understandable. Irritating, but understandable. Sure, his boss would offer to have someone come get him; Botan had a car and lived close by, but she wouldn't wait for him until his shift ended, and Yuusuke would be damned if he was walking home in the dark down a puddle-filled alley. No sir-ee.

He was good at his job and he liked it to an extent, but KoEnma could kiss the fattest, dirtiest part of his unwashed ass if he thought he was coming in during a storm.

For weeks he stuck to this routine, picking Keiko up and going to work when he could and religiously keeping himself clean all the while avoiding water, and he felt safer. As each day passed, he felt more and more confident and secure. Nothing had attacked him out of the toilet yet, and he was grateful for it. When he needed to wash himself, nothing shot out of the bucket to drag him to his death, and the occasional sprinkler didn't wrap around him and pull him into the ground.

Small victories.

Unfortunately, Yuusuke and Victory breed to produce confidence, blinding confidence.

Urameshi Yuusuke desperately wanted one nice shower. People go off their diets all the time for a day or two before returning; why couldn't Yuusuke skirt his own laws just this once? Nothing had happened to him so far. If he just made the shower quick, if he could just feel the beat of soothingly hot water on his back one more time, he knew he could get through this whole lifetime of avoidance and hydrophobia.

Yeah, he was going to do this. Fuck the rules. He deserved a fucking shower!

Adjusting the taps, the first gush of water came rushing out of the faucet, making Yuusuke's skin jump with anticipation. On one hand, he was afraid. Any moment now that hand would be back to grab him and suck him down the pipes. On the other, he was terribly excited. He felt the steam on his cheeks and they reddened pleasurably in response.

He pulled the tab and water cascaded from the showerhead, first cold, then gradually warmer. So this was it, the moment of truth. No going back now.

Yuusuke stripped, but stood naked and staring at the rushing water. Okay, deep breath, he mentally coaxed, this wasn't the first time doing this.

But it was the first time since he was nearly drowned in his sink.

The thought sobered him and his heart sank into his stomach. Quickly, Yuusuke slammed the water off and sighed heavily. Weakling, coward, pansy-ass! He internally shouted. You could have done it, you chicken shit!

Yuusuke wasn't so sure. His forgotten confidence sure was, but Yuusuke's brain? Not so much. It keenly remembered the feel of that tight hand around his throat and the water burning his lungs. It was well aware of just how scared Yuusuke really was and how not ready Yuusuke was to try his luck.

Not that it could stop his rolling arrogance. His brain always took the backseat in whatever Yuusuke did.

The one time he decided to listen was the one time he really, really, really wanted it to shut the fuck up and take a damn nap like usual. Yuusuke stared at the dripping showerhead with longing. He bet that first spray of hot water would have felt fantastic, better than any shower before it, and he frowned hard. He huffed.

Fuck!

Determination renewed, Yuusuke nearly snapped the taps off the wall and pulled the tab hard enough to almost pull it out. Again, the shower started, and Yuusuke jumped in, quite literally.

Ohhhhhh, he was so right. This was the single best damn shower he could have ever hoped for. It was like the first drink of water after braving a desert; it was like playing that first game on a brand-spanking-new game console; it was like that first lick of chocolate ice cream after finally being able to have it due to some miraculous cure for chocolate allergies and lactose intolerance.

Damn, there was beauty and wonder in the world!

He took his time cleansing and rinsing himself. The water would stay warm for a while; after all, up until now, it was just his mother using it regularly. He could afford wasting a little more than a bit.

Even after he had done all he could to make himself clean, he stood under the stream just enjoying its warmth and soothing beat. He wished he had never been grabbed on the way home. He wished he had never gotten caught by the hand in the sink.

But this, this almost made it worth it. The appreciation he felt for this one damn shower was ridiculous. It was truly the small things that people took for granted. Yuusuke would make sure never to do so again.

"Damn," Yuusuke moaned, running his hands through his wet hair again, "If only I could stay here forever."

All good things had to come to an end, he supposed. He reached behind him blindly in search of the taps and bumped into everything but. Sighing, he turned on his heels to grab properly, but in that moment of spinning, the ground seemed to open up under him. The pooling water at his feet swirled and sucked him down, wrapping up the length of him to his shoulders where it pulled with enough force to knock him off balance.

He was falling forever into an odd sea. Water surrounded him, but didn't act like any water he had experienced. It shimmered and shook with emotion, laughed with multiple voices, and danced to an eerie beat.

"_I have him! I finally have him!_"

Who had him?

Yuusuke snapped at the sound of the echoing voice and struggled against the gossamer hands holding him. He wouldn't be sucked away into nothingness! He wouldn't die drowning!

His hands, free from restriction, reached up in desperation and grabbed at anything they could find. He felt slick material in his palms and didn't care how much it slipped as he pulled and kicked away from his bindings. The rip of fabric, the tear of a curtain, and the clatter of metal rang in his ears. He was blind and suddenly unconscious.

"Yuusuke!" His mother's voice grounded him, brought him back. "Yuusuke, what the hell happened?!"

She pulled him up, and he choked on the water running down his face. The bathtub had flooded, and apparently he had pulled the shower curtain, rod and all, down. His head throbbed painfully; if the shower rod was indication, it had come down across his temple.

"Did you slip?!" Atsuko tried to hoist her son up into a sitting position, but he was as limp as a ragdoll. "What the hell were you thinking?! You know better than to keep the plug in the drain while showering! You could have killed yourself!"

Yuusuke felt the water ebbing away as she plucked released the plug. He didn't remember putting it in. He was certain he hadn't. What idiot would do that?

He was dimly aware of her struggling with him. In frustration, she slapped his thigh, hoping the slight sting would snap him back enough to work with her.

"Come on, Yuusuke! You have legs. Use them!"

"Ugh, my head," He moaned, sitting up and finally trying to get out of the tub.

"Yeah, you smacked it good. We need to get ice on it, and you need to get dressed. Knowing your luck, you have a concussion and need to go the damn hospital."

"I'm fine."

"You're not _fine_. You've been acting like a lunatic for days!" She hooked her arms under his and with surprising strength, hauled him up onto his own feet. He teetered, but stayed upright long enough to step out of the tub and make it out to the living room.

Atsuko promptly sat him on the couch and forced a bag of ice onto the bump growing out of his head. She then left him to gather clothes and a towel for him. Yuusuke was alone with his thoughts.

_I have him! I finally have him!_

Those words echoed and ricocheted about in his brain endlessly. Well, Yuusuke supposed there was absolutely no doubt now.

He wasn't safe. Not now, not ever. And no one would believe him.

.~:|:~.

"You look like shit, Urameshi," Kuwabara muttered as he held out a coffee to Yuusuke.

Coffee, ugh. Yuusuke didn't particularly care for the stuff, but it had become his best friend recently. It kept him awake, and like it or not, he would drink it as long as it did its job. Being wired was worth being aware.

"I know," He couldn't muster a smartass retort. Just standing was wearing him out.

"So, uhh, you wanna talk about it?"

"You'll think I'm crazy. My mother and Keiko are already looking for therapists for me."

Kuwabara cocked his head to the side and waited. Yuusuke could either drop the conversation now or keep going, and Kuwabara wouldn't pry. In the years they've known each other, Kuwabara was always the rash soldier, but as he aged, as he went through life and pursued his dreams, he had dulled that impulsiveness down to a bluntness that was just eerie sometimes.

Normally, this would piss Yuusuke off to no end (as everything did one way or another), but he found himself stupidly grateful for the gentle, silent inquisition. At the very least, Kuwabara was still predictable. He just traded in one suit for one of a different color.

"A lot of weird shit is going on, Kazuma."

Kuwabara tensed slightly. Never in the history of their friendship had Yuusuke used his first name in public. It was only the secret intimate moments of weakness that Yuusuke let himself fall into informality, but even those were few and far between. Kuwabara could count on one hand just how many times Yuusuke had dropped the tough guy, Imma-kick-your-ass routine in favor of being an emotional, functioning human being.

"Nightmares?" Kuwabara asked lightly.

"I don't want to say no, but I can't say yes either," The look Kuwabara gave him had Yuusuke sighing heavily and turning to walk through the throng of people that had very suddenly began to grow around them. "I keep being attacked."

"How is that different from normal?"

"Because I can't really see who's trying to kill me."

"What? Kill you!"

"Shhh!" Yuusuke hissed, exhausting himself. He huffed, "Someone's trying to drown me or something. It started weeks ago when I was walking Keiko home. I tripped. I thought nothing of it, but I thought I saw something weird in the puddle. Then that night, this fucking hand tried to drown me in my sink.

"I tried to play it off. Maybe I was half-asleep and managed to think something evil was clogging all my drains, but then I took a shower, and the same hand grabbed me and pulled me down again. I know it was the same. If Ma wasn't there, I don't think I'd be talking to you right now.

He paused, not wanting to look Kuwabara in the eye just yet, "I don't know. Maybe I am going crazy. I haven't been sleeping well. I stay up at night thinking if I fall asleep, I might not wake up or I'll wake up in some hospital or somehow my ceiling's going to split open, dump all this water on me, and I really will drown. And then, when I'm supposed to be awake, I can't stop thinking about how much I need a shower and am becoming a fanatic about how I can possibly avoid water at all costs."

Kuwabara was silent for the longest moment, seemingly digesting the information Yuusuke presented him with. Yuusuke wished he had enough energy to be tense, but instead, he could only feel an unearthly calm that only came when he and Kuwabara were completely serious with one another.

"Well, for what it's worth, I don't think you're losing your marbles," Relief. Yuusuke nearly smiled, "But I am really worried for you. This sounds like poltergeist activity, or maybe even a curse," Kuwabara stopped to gauge Yuusuke's reaction. On previous occasions, Yuusuke got quite a few snickers here and there from Kuwabara's fervent belief in the supernatural, but Yuusuke couldn't find any humor here, "Listen, why don't you come stay with me and Sis for a while? We just blessed the house. It's safe there. We can see if anything weird bubbles up in a neutral space."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"This is on you, Urameshi. If you're worried about me or Shizuru, you should be more worried about yourself. You've been with your mother and Keiko when these things have happened, and nothing's happened to them, only you. Curses can't be redirected by the cursed. Poltergeists, well, they're a different beast entirely, but they like negativity. Sorry to say, but you're pretty full up on that."

Yeah, he supposed Kuwabara was right. He nodded, "Okay. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to sleep with another person in the house for once. Might make me feel better at the least."

They made their way over to the fountain square, and Yuusuke stopped dead a few feet away from the babbling water. Kuwabara watched him nervously sip at the last of his coffee and sighed. Yuusuke wasn't one to be easily rattled, and to see him like this was both disheartening and scary. He clapped a hand on Yuusuke's shoulder and forced a smile.

"It's okay, dude. Let's go get some things for you to stay over."

Yuusuke nodded again, but was stopped again by Kuwabara muttering something about trash and shooting off into the opposite direction. Well, so much for seriousness now. Yuusuke rocked on his feet, feeling quite calm and vindicated, and let himself smile. Things would be okay. He had someone who believed him, someone who wanted to help.

Yuusuke glanced over at the fountain, not more than two feet away now. The water was laughing at him. He had every right to be scared, it whispered, even the Great Urameshi could drown. The Great Urameshi could die. He scowled.

Fuck. He was going crazy. Water talked to him, mocked him.

Kuwabara had been snagged by a group of girls, and Yuusuke made a move to walk toward him. He wouldn't be going anywhere. Twisting limbs of solid water wrapped themselves around his hips, coursing up to his neck and shoulders where they promptly snapped over his mouth to silence him. He was sucked back in a flash, faster than any eye could trace, into the shallow fountain, now deep and running downward forever, with nary a splash. He was a mere coin tossed into the fountain's base.

* * *

**I suck at poetry!**

**Author's Note:** Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know a few people were looking forward to this particular fic, and hopefully I didn't disappoint. Please let me know how you think it turned out. Hopefully this fic will stay on track versus my other fics that have gone off on their own.

On another note, I'd just like to let everyone know that I recently put up a poll concerning an upcoming story called **Suddenly**. If you go to my profile page, the rough summary is there if you're interested in learning about it. However, regardless if you go out of your way to read about it, the poll is open to everyone. I just would like to know who you, the reader, would like to see with Yuusuke. There are only two choices for that story/poll, but if you want to see something different, either review or PM me and if I'm not adverse to the pairing, I'll see what I can do. The poll will be open for a long while as **Suddenly** will not be in production until I get some of these other stories up and going and possibly out of the way as well.

Again, thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and I hope you stick around for the chapters to come!


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